The former minister of labor during the five-year term of socialist François Hollande, François Rebsamen, announced on Saturday March 5 that he would vote for Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election. “It’s an obvious choice. No other candidate today seems more competent”the mayor of Dijon told Agence France-Presse (AFP), confirming an announcement made daily The Parisian in an article posted online Saturday.
Emmanuel Macron a “the stature and credibility of a head of state. He’s proven it every day while we’re at war.”explained the former number two of the Socialist Party (PS), from 1997 to 2008, who denies aiming for a ministerial post in the event of Emmanuel Macron’s second term: “I ask nothing for myself. »
Former Minister of Labor (2014-2015), Mr. Rebsamen had already distanced himself from the PS when Olivier Faure was elected as its head in September. “The PS has become sectarian and no longer speaks to popular circles. He has no vision, no program. Anne Hidalgo is the victim”he regretted. “I am and I remain a socialist”hammered Mr. Rebsamen.
“We cannot leave Emmanuel Macron alone with the right”
His rallying was beyond doubt. In July, he had signed a platform of 350 mayors saluting the « courage » by Emmanuel Macron. In October, he had mentioned “common causes” with Territories of Progress, which brings together the left wing of the presidential majority.
The Bourguignon said to join the outgoing president with his “lucidity, knowing the negative and positive aspects of the five-year term”. “The policy of whatever it costs is one of the major elements that made me evolve”he added, welcoming that France has become “one of the most protective countries in Europe by paying the 8.5 million French people” unemployed during the Covid-19 crisis.
François Rebsamen, who in 2018 accused Emmanuel Macron of “privileging the richest”however, remains opposed to the abolition of wealth tax, as well as to the reform of unemployment insurance in “discrepancies in compensation that are not acceptable” and to which “it will have to be remedied”.
Thus, it is for ” weigh “ on a new five-year Macron that Mr. Rebsamen wants to create a “independent social democratic movement” following the presidential election. “We cannot leave Emmanuel Macron alone with the right”, he believes. To do this, “personalities will join me”, he assures without giving names. Several other PS figures have recently joined Macronie, including ex-minister Marisol Touraine and Manuel Valls, the former head of government of François Hollande (2014-2016).